


Remnants (of My Youth)

by cherrylove



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-08
Updated: 2016-08-07
Packaged: 2018-07-29 20:55:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7699009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherrylove/pseuds/cherrylove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While he waited in line to get to the attendance sheet, he tried to place the reason the TA’s name sounded so familiar. The only Milkovich he knew was Mandy and she had five brothers, but they were all in jail or still on the South Side as far as he knew. Not in college, TA'ing for literature classes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Remnants (of My Youth)

“Yo! Ian! You ready to go man! We’re gonna be late,” Lip called from the kitchen. 

“Yeah, just a sec!” Ian called back, pulling a beanie on. 

He snatched his backpack up from the foot of the bed and headed out of his room. He took a cup of coffee from Lip and they left the apartment to make the trek from the apartment to the university campus.

When Ian was growing up on the South Side of Chicago, he never pictured himself in college. Lip was always the promising one of the Gallagher clan with the college future. His future was different. He always thought he’d graduate high school and enlist in the Army, but then he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder like their mess of an absent mother and those dreams went down the drain. Instead, he focused on finishing high school and fighting the depression and mania as best he could while his doctor tried to figure out the right combination of medications. 

Somehow, he made it to college with a scholarship that covered almost everything and he saved a lot by staying off campus with Lip, who was a sophomore at University of Chicago. He started his freshman year and struggled a little at first, but once he found his niche and declared a nursing major, things got a little easier. He liked the science of it and he liked the idea of helping people in that way if he couldn’t do it as a soldier. 

They split ways at the engineering building and Ian headed the liberal arts building for his Classic British Literature class. He bounded up the stairs and pushed into the building, shoving his hands into his pockets as he moved down the hall and up the stairs. The front was ideally where Ian should sit but he hated how sitting there felt so the middle was typically where he ended up. His notebook and pen came out of the backpack, leaning back in his chair as the other students began to file into the classroom. 

He hated the pre-reqs like this. Lip could write a paper like it was second nature for any class he took, but Ian had to work a lot harder and longer on papers for classes like this to even get a passing grade. 

He uncapped his pen and dated the top of the page once the lecture hall was full and the class was scheduled to start. The double doors near the white board up front opened and the man who must have been Dr. Rowl’s TA walked into the room. He slung a messenger bag onto the table up front and attached the microphone to the dark grey button down he was wearing. 

“This is Lit 2540. I’m Mickey Milkovich and I’m Dr. Rowl’s TA this semester. If any of that doesn’t sound right, you’re in the wrong place. Usually Dr. Rowl’s does the first lecture of the semester, but he’s got an impending book deadline so you get me early. He’ll be here to collect your midterms and finals, but I will be grading them. I hope everyone is ready to jump in today. You’ve got a ton of papers due in not a whole lot of time. Dr. Rowl’s is having you start with Shelly’s Frankenstein. Not my fuckin’ favorite, but let’s get on with the lecture,” he said. “When we’re done, come to the front and get a syllabus and sign the attendance so you can be verified.” 

Ian furrowed his brow and shook his head. He’d had several TAs since starting college and none of them were ever as crude as this one. He also had some rough looking stick-and-poke tattoos on his knuckles. He’s pretty sure they read ‘fuck u-up.’ If he had to pin an origin story for this guy, it’d start on the South Side. 

The lecture was long and was hardly Ian’s favorite topic, but Mickey was a decent enough speaker and inserted his own opinions about the literature often enough that he could pay attention and learn something about Frankenstein. He’d also never heard any TA besides his brother curse during a lecture until now, but Mickey apparently was so used to cursing that he just did it naturally during lecture. 

Ian packed his things when the lecture ended and waited until most of the other students filed out to head down to grab a syllabus and sign the attendance. While he waited in line to get to the attendance sheet, he tried to place the reason the TA’s name sounded so familiar. The only Milkovich he knew was Mandy and she had five brothers, but they were all in jail or still on the South Side as far as he knew. Not in college, TA'ing for literature classes. As far as he was aware, academics wasn't really a thing the Milkovich boys cared about at all. Ian adjusted his grip on his backpack that was hanging onto one shoulder, clicked the pen in his hand, and leaned down to sign next to his name. 

He stuck the pen under his beanie and behind his ear, the end just barely peeking out from underneath the hat, “So. Milkovich? You have a sister named Mandy?” 

He peered up at the older man who only raised a brow in response. 

“Mandy and I are best friends. I’ve heard about all of you guys at some point. I forgot she had another older brother. When she said you were away, I didn’t think she meant college,” he continued, “I mean usually when you hear that where we’re from it means jail or juvie or somethin’.” 

He adjusted his backpack and waited for a minute to see if he would say anything in response. They stood there in some kind of weird standoff to see who would cave first, but in the end Ian was going to be late for his Stats lecture if he didn’t leave and Mickey was already throwing his messenger bag back over his shoulder. 

“Alright then…” Ian murmured, turning and bounding up the lecture hall stairs. 

~~~~

Lip was leaning against the building smoking when he stepped outside. He grabbed the cigarette from him and took a long drag before they started to the mathematics building. He passed it back and blew the smoke out slowly. 

“Mickey Milkovich is my TA,” he said, shoving his hands into his pockets. 

“The fuck? A Milkovich went to college? I mean…maybe Mandy, but her brothers? No fuckin way,” Lip shook his head, taking another drag. “Wasn’t Mickey in juvie last Mandy said?” 

“That’s what she said, but it’s not like I asked. I’d never met the guy. He was always in juvie or just not there. Well, he’s the TA for my Classic Brit Lit lecture. He’s actually not a bad lecturer. Curses more than the university would probably like, but you can take someone out of the South Side, but not the South Side out of the person.” 

“Ain’t that the fuckin truth.” 

Ian and Lip both took one last drag from the cigarette before they both headed into the building Lip went to his Calc class while Ian headed off to Stats. He sat down behind some chick with acid green hair and pulled out his notebook and the textbook to take notes. 

“Fuckin Milkovich in college…what the fuck…” he murmured. 

Once he was out of Stats and on his way to meet Lip for lunch, Ian sent off a text message to Mandy. 

_Yo Mands, you got a brother in college you forgot to tell me about?_  
_I.G._

_Who? Mickey? Yeah, the fuck you askin for?_  
_Mands_

_Your brother is my TA for that lit class I’m in. You just let me assume he was in jail like all the others??_  
_I.G._

_No fuckin way, man!...Sorry, Mick left for college not long after he got his GED and got out of juvie for the last time. He decided he was done with South Side bullshit and got out…we don’t really talk about the rogue Milkovich in my house. So we let people assume what they do._  
_Mands_

_A’ight. Well, he doesn’t really talk much, does he?_  
_I.G._

_not unless he’s lecturing…he’s always been kinda quiet._  
_Mands_

_Don’t push too hard Ian, if you decide to try and be friends. He may have decided he was done with South Side, but he’s still a South Side thug if pushed…I just know how you get when you set your mind to somethin’…_  
_Mands_

_You worry too much Mands. I can handle your brother._  
_I.G._

**Author's Note:**

> So...this is gonna be a multi-chap, but please be patient with me. I start back to nursing school on the 15th so updates might be slow after that and I'm currently working on a few remix fics for another fandom thing. Also, criticism is always welcome. This is only my second venture into Gallavich and Shameless fic so here goes nothin'. 
> 
> Also, the fic title is inspired by Remnants by Jack Garratt :) It's a very Gallavich song.
> 
> Text messages will be italicized and signed off.


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